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My step-brother and step-sister and I would sit in the bathroom, whining for what seemed like an eternity while we flossed our teeth. We’d stare out the doorway, longing for our freedom.

In reality, it was probably about five minutes.

Sorry about that, mom.

Now I actually love flossing my teeth. There’s just something about getting those chunks of meat and cilantro out after eating at Chipotle.

This is the kind I like most.

I usually use regular floss, though sometimes those floss picks come in handy (pun intended). Those floss picks can be painful, though, in my experience. Especially with your back teeth. I’ll try to get that little piece of floss between my teeth and then SNAP, it jams up into my gums. Youch! So, regular floss is still option one for me.

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I had told the person I was mowing for that I knew how to use it. That was a lie. But, how difficult could it be, right? Well, apparently it’s important to know how the gears work. Especially on a hill. As I started to roll backwards, frantically trying to figure out how to stop, I saw the van out of the corner of my eye. Before I knew it… WHAM! I looked around. As far as I could tell, nobody saw it happen. I put the mower in gear and off I went.

Sorry…person that owned that van.

I’ve mowed lawns with a regular lawn mower my whole life. Never made any adjustments. Starting it can be a bear, depending on the setup of the mower, but it really hasn’t been a problem.

This is a lawn mower.

I still like mowing the lawn, but these days it’s a little more painful than it used to be. Having to push the mower with one hand is hard on my wrist. And the vibrations don’t help. That said, it’s still doable. (Full disclosure: I live in a condo. I never mow my own yard. Don’t worry about it.)

Here’s a video of me starting the mower and mowing a little bit. Please feel free to post your thoughts and questions in the comments section!

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As a kid, it was all about finding cards of my favorite players. There weren’t very many brands, so you bought Topps or Donruss and that was about it. I specifically remember buying a triple-pack of 1987 Topps baseball cards at a Madison Muskies game when I was ten and rifling through them over and over.

Wally Joyner’s 1987 Topps card.

I’ve written before about my Jim Abbott collection and I always collected Robin Yount cards because he was (and still is) my favorite Brewer. In the early ’90s, though, card collecting became about the “chase cards.” The inserts. We started to break open packs, and even entire boxes, without even looking at the “common” cards. We just wanted the rare ones because they were worth the most. And there were about a million different brands and styles and sets and…you name it, they made it. It became so confusing.

The thrill shifted from opening a pack and finding cool cards of the players you liked, to finding a rare card worth hundreds of dollars. And that makes sense. I mean, it also explains our obsession with shows like Storage Wars and Pawn Stars and American Pickers. Even their predecessor, Antiques Roadshow, captures my attention if I’m flipping around.

We all have that fantasy of finding an original Van Gogh at a garage sale or a box full of money tucked away in the attic. Chances are, though, that’s not going to happen. But it could…and that’s the allure, right? I think we need to remember to enjoy the common things in life, though, and then if we’re surprised by something out of the ordinary, it will be that much more rewarding! Whether that’s a rare baseball card pulled from a fresh pack or an unexpected visit from your wife at lunch, it means so much more when we re-learn to enjoy the common, everyday aspects of life.

I like to play it and I’ve played it a lot…I’m just not very good. I was going to say that I’m not very reliable, but that’s not really true. You can rely on me to serve and spike well, and to struggle when it comes to bumping and setting. Bumping is the hardest. You have to hit the ball just right around your wrist or forearm to have any control and most of the time that hurts like the dickens. And what’s that mean, anyway? The dickens?

One thing I’m really good at, though, is trash-talking. You can hear my friend Jessica giving me the business at the end of the video below, but that’s only after I dropped this on her:

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Tony Memmel played a show in Madison, WI last night and it was awesome.

I could basically end the post there, but I won’t.

It was a blast to connect with Tony again and finally meet his beautiful and talented wife, Lesleigh! They are just such kind and down-to-earth people. Plus, his beard…I’m so jealous. My wife and I brought our kids to meet them, too, and it was priceless to see my son Sam watching Tony’s every move. And later, my wife would say to me, “I wish we lived closer. They’re so great. Plus, I have about a MILLION questions for Lesleigh! She’s the only woman I know who is also married to a one-armed man!” Love it.

Haacks and Memmels showing-off our Lucky Fin bracelets!

Tony’s performance was fantastic. He made Redamté Coffee House his home and made us all feel comfortable. He even played One Week to Philadelphia, just like I “asked” him to! (I demanded it on Facebook, actually) Lesleigh sang with him on a few of the songs and their voices blend beautifully. The tour was sponsored by the Lucky Fin Project and Tony gave a nice plug and thank you from the stage, which was really cool. I hope to have video of the concert up soon!

After his performance, Tony graciously agreed to do a short interview for LOH. Enjoy!

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I fully understand this is kind of nasty. The sound of nails being clipped is like nails on a chalkboard to me. When people do it at work (WHY??) I walk around to find the culprit and then judge them in my mind. Seriously.

Don't clip your nails at work. It's gross.

That said, I’ve had numerous requests to see how I do it. And I’m nothing if I don’t do whatever anyone tells me to do.

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I took lessons for a little while when I was young and I took music theory in high school, but mostly I’m self-taught. As with most things I do one-handed, I just figured it out.

It’s always funny when people are listening to me play and then at some point realize I’m doing it with one hand. They get a quizzical look on their face and say, “Wait…how are you doing that??”

In late 2008 I broke my short arm. As I began to heal and the swelling started to go down, one of my greatest fears was that I wouldn’t be able to play the piano anymore. I remember going to my in-laws’ one day and trying to play. My arm was still swollen and I couldn’t hit one key at a time. I started to cry. I was mourning the loss of my ability to play piano…albeit prematurely. Eventually the swelling went down and I gained most of the mobility in my elbow back and my piano playing resumed. Talk about a joyful feeling!

I’ve always had fun making-up stupid songs, too. Ask my kids. Or my wife. Just don’t ask if they like it. With that in mind, I present to you the video of how I play piano one-handed!